I visited the glittering Greek island of Mykonos, the summer destination of choice for billionaires — and it's a very different experience if you aren't swimming in money

The Greek island of Mykonos is known as a party capital and is a vacation hot spot for millionaires and billionaires.

I recently visited to see what the island would be like on both a frugal vacation budget and a higher-end vacation budget.

Visiting during the peak summer months of July and August turned out to be an expensive, exhausting, and crowded experience, with every beach packed, lines out the door of most clubs and bars, and resorts that were hard to book and cost a fortune.

While the resorts and beaches are gorgeous and the bars and clubs fun and lively, Mykonos feels like poor bang for one's buck unless you are a hard-partying clubber or drowning in money.

There are a lot of less crowded, equally beautiful, and far cheaper Greek islands to visit nearby.

Mykonos is not for the faint of heart.

The island is known as a glamorous destination for the world's wealthiest and most famous. Come the booming summer months of July and August, and the island swells with the A-listers, B-listers, C-listers, and D-listers, along with hundreds of thousands of vacationers, hard-partying dance-music junkies, and cruise-shippers.

If this all sounds a little like the Spanish party island of Ibiza, I'll stop you right there: The cool rich kids have moved on. They're in Mykonos now. If there were any doubts, a look off any bay on Mykonos' coast reveals waters swamped with freshly scrubbed yachts, superyachts, and mega yachts.

Over the past several years, the number of international arrivals to Mykonos has nearly doubled.

But where does that leave the rest of the teeming masses jostling for a spot at Mykonos' glittering carnival?

For us, visiting Mykonos is a far different experience. The doors that simply open for the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Richard Branson, Bella Hadid, and the billionaire Stavros Niarchos III stay closed for mere mortals. A day at a beach club can empty out a savings account, and that's if you can even score a cabana at all. In the hottest of hot spots, the staff have the time to cater only to millionaires and billionaires.

At least, those were my assumptions before I stepped off the airplane to see what Mykonos was like for regular folks. Many proved to be right by the time I left the island a few days later. Other expectations, I found, were pleasantly incorrect.

Here's what it was like to visit the world's hottest party island in the peak of the season:

1/

Gorgeous, glamorous, and luxurious, Mykonos is Greece’s answer to Ibiza.

In the following decades, the island became known as a legendary underground party spot and a popular vacationing spot for the global LGBT community.

In recent years, tourism to the island has exploded as global partiers and a new generation of celebrities and the ultrarich discovered the Grecian paradise after moving on from now-passé hot spots like Ibiza and Saint-Tropez.

3/

I arrived on the island one evening in late July, the peak of the peak season.

Shutterstock

I was picked up by Michael, the driver for the guest house I would be staying at and a 50-ish "financial refugee" from Athens.

"The thing you have to understand about Mykonos," Michael said, in a riff that quickly turned Shakespearean, "is that Mykonos is absolutely nothing. There is nothing special about the island. It is a theater stage and you are the stars."

4/

Before dropping me off, Michael informed me of a few tips to survive Mykonos.

Pay attention to the northerly "meltemi" wind, which acts like "natural air conditioning" but can ruin a night if you don't carry a jacket.

Don't drink the water.

Mind the traffic: Roads are packed and there are no sidewalks.

Don't expect to get a taxi. There are only 31 on the island and more than 100,000 tourists. "It's a lottery," he said. You can rent a car or a quad bike, but with narrow winding roads, buses are the way for even those on a modest budget.

5/

To give you a lay of the land, on the first night, I stayed in Ornos for my try at frugality. On the second, I was in Platis Gialos to check out a more luxurious option.

The next day it was time to kick up my Myconian adventure to the next level. I decided to stay at the Myconian Ambassador Relais & Chateau, one of the island's oldest and most luxurious resorts.

Starting at about $600 a night in the high season (though much more for the nicest, sea-facing rooms), the resort isn't quite where the millionaires and billionaires stay, but it's certainly a nice spot for a well-off couple looking for some R&R.

16/

The Myconian Ambassador has all the elements of Greek island luxury: whitewashed curves, a stunning view of the sea, and private terraces with personal hot tubs. The view from the terrace and the pool overlooks the Platys Gialos beach.

The ambiance at the property is calm, a welcome respite from the craziness on Mykonos' beaches. When you check in, staff bring you a welcome drink.

The pool at the Ambassador is so inviting it's hard to even want to traipse down to the beach. The loungers are big and comfy with massive umbrellas to block out the sun while you thumb your beach read.

The hotel offers a few nice touches, like a complimentary iced bottle of water at your lounger. Staff members come around every so often offering complimentary smoothies or products from the spa to freshen up. The life of even moderate luxury is ... good.

Platys Gialos, a short walk from the hotel, is known for being a slightly quieter, more family-friendly beach. But, it being Mykonos, there is always a DJ spinning some tunes by the water.

Platys Gialos is also known for being good for water sports, though I saw people only lapping up the waves.

It's a good time swimming in and around the rocky cliffs for a few hours. Most of the resorts are clustered around Platys Gialos, so for the people who don't care about a beach party, it's the beach of choice.

23/

Still, the water is marred by the boats that fill the seafront. I'm sure it's nice if you are a millionaire or billionaire sunning yourself on your yacht. Many high rollers hop from isle to isle on the comfort of their boats.

Mykonos has 25 beaches strewn along its coast, each with a different vibe.

The beaches on the island's north coast are known for being much quieter and nudist-friendly.

I kept it to the southern side, which tends to have more clubs, restaurants, and beach bars. From Platys Gialos, I walked along the water.

25/

Along the way, there was this little strip of sand that I later learned is called Hidden Beach. There were a few people hanging on their towels and blankets. It looked like a nice, secluded place to enjoy the day.

A little farther down is Agia Anna Beach, which gets its name from the St. Anna chapel nearby.

It's even calmer than Platys Gialos and is home to some of the best tavernas on the island.

I went to Nikolas Taverna at the recommendation of the hotel. It's known for being many people's favorite place to get authentic Greek food.

27/

Open since 1967, Nikolas Taverna isn't cheap, but, for eating on the beach, it offers some of the most reasonable prices around. The thick and creamy tzatziki made me think I've never tasted the dip properly before.

I took this photo of Skandinavian Bar and Disco before sunset as it was getting set up. By the time I came back at about 1 a.m., this terrace area was filled with revelers and the dance-floor upstairs was popping.

The top place to party in Mykonos until the wee hours (and the one that put the island on the map) is Cavo Paradiso, a 2,000-person open-air club on a cliff overlooking the Aegean.

Tickets cost about $30 to $60. Considered a legendary venue by international DJ superstars like Afrojack, it's easily the best deal in town. You can get there via a late-night bus from town to Paradise Beach.

45/

After a long night of partying, many expensive drinks, and little sleep, I got a chance to see the sunrise from the terrace of the hotel room. If you've got money to burn, there are worse ways to spend it than on this unreal view.

But then the hangover set in. The breakfast buffet, which only goes until 10:30 a.m., is a sight to behold at the Myconian Ambassador.

The made-to-order strawberry and Nutella crepe might as well be dessert, and the freshly made cucumber-apple juice was life-giving. I would probably still be doubled over in bed if it weren't for those two items.

47/

Later that day, at the recommendation of a local, I hopped on a ferry to the island of Tinos next door. So what did I think of Mykonos?

While generally I had a fine time during my few days in Mykonos, it felt like a completely different place than it would if I were spending thousands of dollars.

That could be said of lots of holiday destinations, but I've never felt that way in New York, Paris, the Caribbean islands, or other places I've visited.

If you are a millionaire, billionaire, or even just a wealthy person who doesn't care about blowing $5,000 or more on a night out, the island opens itself up in ways that just isn't the case for a regular Joe. Staff at the hotels and restaurants seem primed to ignore you unless they identify you as a high roller.

The top spots on the island are littered with reviews espousing a pretentious and exclusive attitude for even people on a modest luxury budget. That said, maybe exclusive isn't the right way to describe it. If you have the money to spend, you can get in anywhere, which just isn't the case in certain rarefied places in New York or Miami.

The island is beautiful and, with 25 beaches, you can find one that suits your preference and price level — it just may mean that you are sitting on your towel while the big shots pop Champagne from cabanas nearby.

I hated that there were 20 or 30 yachts spread out in front of nearly every beach on the southern coast. It makes you feel as if you are swimming in a marina. I'm sure it's nice for the superrich, who can hop a tender back and forth to the beach party, but it seems to kill the vibe for everyone else.

Lastly is the trash. The island is packed in the summer with hundreds of thousands of tourists. One thing I didn't expect, but maybe should have, is that tons of places smell of hot garbage and the grass is littered with empty bottles. I'm sure the people going from private car to beach club to villa don't see or smell it, but, for the rest of us, it ruins the relaxed experience.

After spending the next few days in Tinos, a quiet nearby island, I felt as if I probably wouldn't need to come back to Mykonos in the near future. Tinos, and other quieter islands in the Cyclades, are half the price and just as beautiful.

What's interesting is that I heard from some repeat visitors that the VIP atmosphere is relatively new. People used to come to Mykonos to escape the closed-off air of places like Ibiza or Saint-Tropez and party in a bohemian atmosphere. That wasn't the vibe I got.

Mykonos is the place to go if you are looking for a party, but just be prepared to spend mightily.

If the dance music see-and-be-seen carnival isn't what you are looking for, don't bother. There are plenty of other Greek islands that will give you more bang for your buck.